Gigi's Decadent Rice Krispies Cookies

These were my very favorite thing my Grandmother made when I was little.  So delicious!

Combine 1 cup sugar and 1 cup white Karo and bring to a boil.  Add 1 1/2 cups Peaunt Butter and 4 cups Rice Krispies.  Put in 9 x 13 pan.  Melt 16 oz. Chocolate Chips and 16 oz. butterscotch morsels.  Spread over above.  Cut into squares and enjoy!

Gigi's Chocolate Fudge

My grandmother made pounds and pounds of this yummy fudge so that we could all take some home after the holidays :)


Ingredients:
4 ½ cups of sugar
1 can evaporated milk
½ lb butter
1 ½ of large Hershey’s Milk Chocolate candy bar
1 bag of Nestles semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 large jar marshmallow cream
2 cups of nuts
2 tbs vanilla flavoring

Directions: Cook sugar, butter, and milk until it comes to a boil. Cook for 8 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients. Pour into buttered dish. Chill and cut into pieces.

Gigi's Peanut Butter Fudge

This was my other favorite fudge that my grandmother made every year!

Ingredients:
½ cup butter/ marg.
5 cups sugar
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
1 (18 oz) jar creamy peanut butter
1 (7 oz) jar marshmallow cream

Directions: Butter sides and bottom of a large Dutch oven, leaving excess butter n pan. Add sugar and evaporated milk, stirring well. Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture reaches soft ball stage or a candy thermometer registers 234. Remove from heat; add peanut butter and marshmallow cream, beating with a wooden spoon until blended. Pour into a buttered 13x9x2 inch baking pan or dish; cool before cutting.

Gigi's Peanut Butter Rolls!

Since its getting close to Christmas, I thought I should post some of my grandmother's awesome candy recipes. This was my favorite growing up :)

Ingredients:

2 lbs. Confectionary sugar

3 Tbs. butter, softened

14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk

1 Tbs. vanilla flavoring

Small can of peanut butter

Extra confectionary sugar for rolling out dough

Directions: In a large, bowl, mix together sugar, butter, condensed milk, and flavoring. (Mixture will be very thick and needs to be worked with hands.) Roll out on board sprinkled with confectionary sugar. Spread peanut butter on and roll up like a jelly roll. Freeze for an hour and then slice. Keep chilled in fridge until ready to serve.

Gigi's Corn Pudding

No holiday meal would be complete without my grandmother's corn pudding. This is sweet enough to be a dessert, but we eat it as a side :)

Ingredients:
2 cans creamed corn
5 slightly beaten eggs
5 Tbs. flour
4 Tbs. butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup sugar
3 cups milk

Directions: Mix corn, flour, salt, and sugar together. Add eggs, milk, butter. P:our into a greased baking dish. Bake at 350 for 1 hour til inserted knife comes out clean.

Gigi's Stuffed Zucchini

Another favorite from my grandmother and I daresay that even if you don't like zucchini normally, you will like this recipe :)

Ingredients:

1 ½ lb. Zucchini (med. Size)

½ cup soft bread crumbs

2 oz. grated American or cheddar cheese

¼ cup minced onion

2 T. minced parsley

1 ¼ t. salt

1/8 t. pepper

2 eggs, beaten

2 T. butter

¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions: Clean zucchini, cut off ends, don’t pare. Cook until tender in 1 inch of boiling water with 1 tsp. salt in covered kettle (5-7 min.) Remove insides with a spoon. Mash and combine with bread crumbs and next 6 ingredients. Spoon mixture lightly into zucchini shell. Dot with butter and top with shredded cheese. Put shells in pan and bake at 350 for about 30 min.

This post is a part of Kelly's SUYL side dishes!

K & W mac and cheese

I'm not sure how my grandmother got the recipe from K & W, but this is probably the easiest and yummiest mac and cheese ever. I used to make it for my brother and his friends in college and they loved it when I added diced ham to it and would eat it as a complete meal :)

Ingredients:
8 oz macaroni, uncooked
2 cups cottage cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 large egg, slightly beaten
3 cups cheddar cheese, grated
1 tsp. Salt

Directions: Cook macaroni according to package; drain. Mix all ingredients, reserving ¾ cup cheddar cheese to sprinkle on top. Bake in buttered baking dish until bubbly on top; approx. 35 minutes at 350

Gigi's Sweet Potato Casserole

A must-have for any Jones Family gathering! The sweetest and yummiest sweet potatoes ever!   

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked, mashed sweet potatoes

½ cup sugar

¼ cup milk

1/3 butter, melted

1 tsp. Vanilla or caramel extract

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp allspice

¼ tsp. Cloves 

Topping Ingredients:

1 cup flaked coconut

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 cup chopped pecans 

Directions: Combine 1st nine ingredients; spoon into lightly greased baking dish. Combine the topping ingredients and sprinkle over the top. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes or until lightly browned *I like to puree the sweet potatoes with my immersion blender before adding the other ingredients to make sure there are no strings

Gigi's Overnight French Toast Casserole

Oh, this is soooo good! My grandmother used to make this for us and my Dad continued the tradition. Now I make it whenever we have company come stay with us. Its great because I make it the night before and just pop it in the oven in the morning.

Ingredients:
1 stick margarine
½ cup brown sugar
6 eggs
1 ½ cup milk
1 tsp. Nutmeg
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 loaf cinnamon raisin bread or French bread

Directions: Mix margarine and brown sugar in a 9x 13 Pyrex dish. If using French bread, slice into 1 inch thick slices. Place bread onto butter/sugar mixture. Blend eggs, milk, nutmeg, and vanilla. Pour over the bread slices. Let chill overnight. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake uncovered, 45 minutes at 350. Serve warm with syrup and confectioner’s sugar if desired.

This Post is part of KK's SUYL Breakfasts

Gigi's Boiled Custard

This is a Jones family tradition and my Dad makes tons of it every Christmas. We've never tasted a better boiled custard :)

Ingredients:

2 cups milk

½ cup sugar

1 tsp. flour

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp. vanilla

Directions: Bring the milk to “just before boil” in top of the double boiler. Mix sugar and flour, add the egg. Add milk slowly to the egg, whisking constantly. Stir in the vanilla. Return the custard to the top of the double boiler to cook until thickened. (Mixture should coat a spoon)

Gigi's Overnight Brunch Casserole

This is great for dinner or for when you want to make breakfast ahead of time!

Ingredients:

1 lb. Sausage or bacon or ham

½ lb. Grated sharp cheddar cheese

8 slices of bread

3-4 eggs

2 cups milk

½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. dry mustard

dash of pepper

Directions: Use a greased 9” x 13” casserole dish. Place bread as liner in bottom of dish. Layer cheese, then meat. Sprinkle these evenly over the bread. Mix together eggs, milk, salt, mustard, and pepper. Pour over casserole. Chill overnight. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

Gigi's Super-Moist Carrot Cake

Hope I don't hurt anyone's feelings, but this is undoubtedly the best carrot cake I have ever tasted in my life! The pineapple makes it so moist and sweet!

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 ½ cup vegetable oil
2 cups flour
2 tsp soda
2-½ tsp cinnamon
3 cups shredded carrots
1 cup pineapple, crushed and drained
Icing:
1 box confectioner’s sugar
1 8-oz pkg. cream cheese
1/3-cup butter
2 tsp vanilla

Directions: Beat sugar and eggs well. Add oil and beat. Sift dry ingredients together and add to sugar/eggs mixture. Add carrots and pineapple. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes in 3 9-inch cake pans. For Icing: Cream softened cheese and butter; add sugar gradually. Add vanilla and spread between layers and on top and sides. Keep cool in refrigerator.

Gigi's 7 - Layer Cookies

My grandmother was featured in the Salem newspaper for this recipe and a few others. Yummy!

Ingredients:
1 stick margarine
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 cup shredded coconut
1 6-oz pkg. Choc. Chips
1 6-oz pkg. Butterscotch chips
1 15-oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup chopped nuts

Directions: Melt margarine in a 9x13 inch pan. Sprinkle over margarine the remaining ingredients, in layers, in order given. Bake at 350 for 30 min.